The pedestrian bridge connecting Mercedes-Benz Stadium to a nearby transit stop won't be open in time for the Super Bowl, despite the city allocating an additional $12 million in funding for exactly that goal.
The pedestrian bridge connecting Mercedes Benz Stadium to the Vine City MARTA Station won't be open in time for the Super Bowl, reports Sean Keenan, despite extra expenses above its original $13 million price tag designed to deliver the project in time for the game.
"What was initially supposed to be a $13 million project resulting in a neon-lit bridge linking the western border of Northside Drive—namely the Vine City MARTA station—with Atlanta’s new sports arena had spiked in total costs, due in part to a sense of urgency to complete it for the biggest event in American football," according to Keenan.
Early last year, the Atlanta City Council elected to green light more than $12 million in additional funding for the pedestrian bridge—“because of next year’s Super Bowl,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in March—and urbanist blog ThreadATL clocks the current price tag at upwards of $27 million.
The the Atlanta Business Chronicle originally reported the news about the bridge's closure for the Super Bowl, in an article that could be behind a paywall for some readers.
Inside the $2 Billion Stadium Hosting the Super Bowl
The hot dogs cost $1,999,999,998 less than the stadium, and either $199,999,998 or $699,999,998 less than taxpayers invested in the stadium.
Sunday Fun: The Super Bowl in Atlanta on Social Media
Traffic and cars play a central role in the social media chatter surrounding the Super Bowl in Atlanta.
Atlanta Pedestrian Bridge—Not a Good Example of Public Dollars Well Spent
The bridge was touted as a connection between downtown and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but it is more a reflection of the city’s misplaced fiscal and planning priorities.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association